Presidential election: Buhari beats chest in assurance of victory.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday expressed confidence that he’ll win the February 16 presidential election.

This is coming as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has explained why the governors were absent at the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Campaign Council for the 2019 election.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting before it went into closed doors, the President said: “I would like to appeal to you to dedicate and commit yourself once again to the task at hand. There is no doubt that victory is with us; it is ours, but that shouldn’t mean we should rest even for a moment.

“Even though we are confident of winning, I urge you to work as hard as you can so that we can maximise the scale and extent of our victory.”

He charged the council members which included Bola Tinubu, the co-chairman of the campaign council, and Rotimi Amaechi, the director general of the campaign to ensure they delivered success to the party.

President Buhari said: “I urge you to rise to the challenge of the great expectations this party and Nigerians have for you – and the confidence that I personally have in the ability of all of you to deliver.

“Needless to add, your selection was not easy, because in forming this council, the party settled only for the best.

“You are the cream of the party and I assure you that with the unity of purpose and effective harmony and communication, there is no political opponent you cannot overcome.”

Speaking on why governors who are to serve as state coordinators in their respective states were conspicuously absent at the inaugural meeting, Oshiomhole, said they were busy campaigning as well as carrying out the business of governance.

Asked why the governors were absent Oshiomhole said: “Because they are governors, they are governing their states. Don’t forget that elections are not defined in Abuja, it will take place in the 36 states and I’m sure there are APC members who are campaigning for the House of Assembly, various federal house and senate constituencies, governorship constituencies. So it will not be helpful to bring them to Abuja. Here, it is about policies; it will be consummated and translated to practice across the 36 states, 774 local governments and wards.”

He reiterated that the elections would be on the difference between 16 years misrule and three and a half years of change.

In his remarks, the former senate minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said that the ruling party is poised to win the February 16 presidential election.

Akpabio, who was governor for eight years and senate minority leader on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also said that his former party had nothing to campaign with except criticism.

He said: “I will say that APC is very poised not just to undertake very smooth and scintillating and enjoyable campaign but also very poised to win the next election.